Watson, the Nuggets’ rising star
On 25 November 2025 at 22:15 CST, Dana Gauruder drops the line like a friendly warning before a storm. Peyton Watson will be a restricted free agent in a few months. Not the kind of detail you skim and move on. For Watson it’s an alert, a countdown, a chance to prove he’s not just a promising wing but a future starter who deserves to be paid.
And for that, a clear road opens up under his sneakers. The 3-and-D slot. The thing every team chases, the role every rotation wants locked down. Watson gets it, and since Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray disappeared from the lineup injured, he hasn’t just filled minutes. He took the spotlight, steady and without flinch, with a confidence you can’t fake.
His two best career games came last week like thunderclaps out of nowhere. First 32 points against New Orleans, then 27 vs Memphis, each time with that same half-smile after a corner triple. The corner is his refuge. The spot where his shot comes out clean and true, like routine. A signature. Defenders are starting to know it — too often, it’s already too late.
Watson isn’t just a kid waiting his turn. He’s slipped into the starting five and looks like he’s always been there. If Denver keeps trusting him, and if he keeps producing consistent games, league execs will have to sharpen their arguments. And their checks.
The Nuggets’ young talent
In Denver, youth isn’t just there to warm the bench or spice up the end of blowouts. Julian Strawther, a 2024 first-round pick, is the perfect example. He’s only played two tiny games this season, but he’s back with the NBA group after a pretty lively G League stint.
David Adelman keeps pushing one simple but vital point. Young players must stay connected to the first team. Even if they’re eating minutes elsewhere, they need to see their teammates, breathe the group’s vibe, rebuild ties with the staff. “We have to bring them back, then send them out,” he explains. A permanent shuttle. A way of saying a player not fully anchored in the NBA locker-room always drifts.
It’s a philosophy they’ve run in Denver for a few years now. Young players protected, given responsibility, nudged just enough. Nobody stalls. Nobody disappears down a corridor. A rotation that’s stable, but alive.
Hardaway, the ideal role player
Tim Hardaway Jr. never pretended to be anything other than a reliable pro — a quick-trigger shooter with a solid mind. In a profile full of anecdotes, Durando paints him as a coach’s dream, a player who understands his role before you’ve even explained it. A veteran who shows up in the summer, signs for a year, and hops on the train without asking where it’s headed.
Result: 11,1 points off the bench, with a consistency that would make a Swiss metronome jealous. Hardaway doesn’t make noise. He does his job. And in a roster still aiming for the top, that kind of profile matters as much as a buzzer-beater.
Jokic’s assists
And then there’s Jokic. Always Jokic. An expert had fun ranking his five best passes of the season this week. Five gems. Five flashes of genius. Five proofs the Serbian big sees the court in widescreen. He also handed the Nuggets an A- for this first quarter of the season. The only blot? Two home losses to inferior opponents.
Nothing alarming. Just a reminder that even champions have to bang their heads now and then to stay sharp. Denver keeps seducing, keeps surprising, keeps proving the formula still works. And somewhere in that picture, a young wing named Peyton Watson is starting to write his own chapter. No frills. No noise. With solid credentials.
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